Metal Monday Volume 123 (5.20.13)

MA heavy rock is alive and well and Second Grave is definitive proof of that. Honestly, it doesn’t matter what bands the members of Second Grave used to be a part of. What matters is what they’re doing now which is completely and utterly fantastic.

On their debut album/EP (It’s six songs but three of those hit the eight minute mark), the purveyors of true doom might come off as a female-fronted Sabbath (No, not Hand Of Doom) at first but they are so much more than that. Does Ozzy rock a guitar? Nope! Can Ozzy sound like the Wilson sisters crossed with Melissa Auf Der Mauer? Hells nope! Is Sabbath’s upcoming album going to sound anything like Second Grave? Absolutely not! But it should.

This is exactly the kind of sound that Black Sabbath should be creating on their upcoming comeback album: Modern yet soaked in ’70’s fuzzed out gloom nostalgia. Proper opener “Covet” takes that description and rolls with it for over eight minutes as Second Grave craft this epic riff-laden monolith that exquisitely showcases Krista Van Guilder’s Ann and Nancy Wilson meets Melissa Auf Der Mauer vocal stylings with a vibrato that instantly sets her apart from other female vocalists.

“Mountains Of Madness” follows and while it may have this Geezer Butler style bass intro courtesy of Dave Gein, it quickly becomes a Deliverance-era COC jamfest. “Salvation” is a quiet little instrumental ditty that morphs into “Soul Extinction” which combines the other influences with a Danzig III vibe which carries on into “Divide And Conquer” with Van Guilder and Chris Drzal battling for John Christ guitar god supremacy.

When all is said and done Second Grave is a solid release that, regardless of the comparisons, stands apart as its own entity. Would it be wise for you to pay attention? Absolutely!